Library / English Dictionary

CHUCKLE

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

 I. (noun) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

A soft partly suppressed laugh

Synonyms:

chortle; chuckle

Classified under:

Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents

Hypernyms ("chuckle" is a kind of...):

laugh; laughter (the sound of laughing)

Derivation:

chuckle (laugh quietly or with restraint)

 II. (verb) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

Laugh quietly or with restraint

Synonyms:

chortle; chuckle; laugh softly

Classified under:

Verbs of grooming, dressing and bodily care

Hypernyms (to "chuckle" is one way to...):

express joy; express mirth; laugh (produce laughter)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s

Derivation:

chuckle (a soft partly suppressed laugh)

Credits

 Context examples: 

“Well, sir,” he said, bowing and chuckling, and tucking in the ends of his neckerchief at his breast: “I thankee, sir, I thankee! I do my endeavours in my line of life, sir.”

(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)

He heard Grey Beaver chuckle above him, and he knew the sound was not hostile.

(White Fang, by Jack London)

"So should I!" and Laurie chuckled at the idea.

(Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott)

He took the purse, poured the hoard into his palm, and chuckled over it as if its scantiness amused him.

(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)

“I’ll beat you out, though, brother mine,” he chuckled.

(The Sea-Wolf, by Jack London)

But François, chuckling at the incident while unswerving in the administration of justice, brought his lash down upon Buck with all his might.

(The Call of the Wild, by Jack London)

The merchant chuckled to himself.

(The White Company, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

Then the little man began to chuckle at the thought of having the poor child, to take home with him to his hut in the woods; and he cried out, Now, lady, what is my name?

(Fairy Tales, by The Brothers Grimm)

Holmes chuckled and rubbed his hands.

(The Return of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

He chuckled to himself as he spoke, his eyes twinkled, and he seemed a different man to the sombre thinker of the previous night.

(The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)